Collaborative logistics ecosystem: an extensible framework for collaborative logistics

Abstract

The system describes a collaborative machine social network system with several elements. There is at least one system participant which communicates with the network. The participant's communications include short bursts of information not directed to a particular recipient but rather the network as a whole. The network further includes propagator nodes and integrator nodes to process communications from participants.

The embodiment of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed is defined as follows: 
     
       1. A machine-based collaborative social network comprising:
 an organized network segment comprising nodes wherein each node maintains a routing table of adjacent nodes and client devices acting as system participants; 
 at least one system participant sending at least one communication chirp; wherein said at least one communication chirp is to be received by the social network and not a particular recipient; wherein said chirp comprises a terse network message repeatedly sent at the edge of the network without recipient information; 
 defining at least one schedule preference for each system participant; 
 wherein the social network propagator nodes receive and store said at least one communication chirp and wherein the social network further comprises integrator nodes which analyze and act upon chirps from the at least one system participant. 
 
     
     
       2. The machine-based collaborative social network of  claim 1  wherein said integrator nodes comprise the human interface to the social network. 
     
     
       3. The machine-based collaborative social network of  claim 2  wherein said integrator nodes provide alarms, exceptions, and other reports for consumption by humans. 
     
     
       4. The machine-based collaborative social network of  claim 1  wherein said propagator nodes store information regarding adjacent nodes and system participants to form a near-range picture of the network, locating end devices and other nearby propagator nodes. 
     
     
       5. The machine-based collaborative social network of  claim 1  wherein said propagator nodes package and prune the various data messages before broadcasting them to adjacent nodes. 
     
     
       6. The machine-based collaborative social network of  claim 1  wherein said propagator nodes disregard redundant chirp messages. 
     
     
       7. The machine-based collaborative social network of  claim 1  wherein said propagator nodes receive instructions from integrator nodes to direct messages to a specific direction of the network. 
     
     
       8. The machine-based collaborative social network of  claim 1  wherein said propagator nodes bridge various network communications media. 
     
     
       9. The machine-based collaborative social network of  claim 1  wherein said system participant further receives at least one communication chirp; wherein said at least one communication chirp is to be received from the social network and not a particular sender. 
     
     
       10. The machine-based collaborative social network of  claim 1  wherein each system participant is assigned a name. 
     
     
       11. The machine-based collaborative social network of  claim 10  wherein the name of each system participant is not guaranteed to be unique with in within the entire network.